CHAPTEE III. 



Ai^NUALS — Their Culture A]S"d Treatment. 



Come, ye soft sylphs, 

 Teach the fine seed, instinct with life, to shoot 

 In earth's cold bosom, its descending root; 

 With pith elastic, stretch its rising stem, 

 Part the twin lobes, expand the throbbing gem; 

 Clasp in your airy arms the aspiring plume, 

 Fan with your balmy breath its kindling bloom; 

 Each widening scale, and bursting film unfold, 

 Swell the green cup, and tint the flower with gold.'* 



Annuals are considered the cliief ornaments of the flower garden 

 throughout the summer and autumn, and many of them are desirable 

 for house culture. 



They have great claims upon our attention, and should be more 

 extensively cultivated in every garden. It is impossible to plant, in a 

 private plat of ground, all the kinds and varieties that are offered to us 

 in the Seedsmen's Catalogues, but a judicious selection of the best kinds 

 will give a charming assortment of brilliant flowers. 



It is almost superfluous to mention that annuals are plants which 

 spring from seed, and perfect their growth and seed, and perish with the 

 autumn ; though their life may be prolonged by cutting off the flowers, 

 not allowing the seed-pods to form, and keeping them housed in the 

 winter. 



They are divided into hardy; half-hardy and tender; and are natives 

 of various lands. Many of them have been greatly improved, by the 

 care and patience of the florist, from their normal state, and transformed 

 into flowers of the most gorgeous hues, and the most perfect shape. 



